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(No 111011611.)4 3 sheets-sheet 1.

D. S. REGAN.

VAPOR ENGINE. No. 448,369. Patented Mar. 17, 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL S. REGAN, OE SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE REGAN VAPOR ENGINE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE. Y

dVAPOR-'ENGINEl SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,369, dated March 17, A1891.

Application filed November 6, 1890. Serial No. 370,445. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known t-hat I, DANIEL S. REGAN, a

citizen of the United States, residing in San usually been so constructed as to exertyonem power-stroke to eyjeryfcun strokes of the piston, the first stroke of the piston, for example, serving to draw in the charge of gas and air, the second stroke to compress and ignite the charge, the third stroke being the powerstroke, and the fourth stroke to exhaust the cylinder preparatory to receiving a new charge. l One objection or disadvantage in the practical use of such engines has been lack of efficiency or economy in fuel, owing to the fact that the cylinder exhausts at a high pressure, thus occasioning considerable loss of power, and another the want of steadiness or regularity in the motion of the engine, owing to the fact that the piston exerts power in only one stroke'out of four, while at its other three strokes, and especially at the chargecompressing stroke, it consumes power. Owing to this one-in-fcur intermediate action of the piston in exerting' power upon the crank-shaft of these engines it has heretofore been necessary to employ heavy fly-wheels.

The object of my invention is to overcome these diiiiculties and to provide a gas or vapor engine of a simple and durable.construction which will operate efliciently and economically and Without the necessity of employing heavy lywheels.

It consists in the novel construction of the cylinders and other parts and in the novel combinations 0f parts and devices herein shown and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification, and in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts throughout all the figures, Figure l is a side elevation of an engine embodying my invention, the same showing the valve-chamber in vertical section. Fig. 2 is va vertical section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is acentral vertical section through the three cylinders, the same being taken on line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of the exhaust port or valve.

In the drawings, A represents the frame of the machine 0r engine, the same being of any suitable form or construction.

B and B are vthe two high-pressure cylinders, and B2 the intermediate low-pressure ,high-pressure cylinders B and B', the same being secured to the cylinders by bolts (l, eX tending through suitable flanges on the castings. Caps D2, bolted to the igniting-chamber casting I) D', close the igniting-chambers. These caps are most conveniently made separate from the igniting-chamber casting D D', and, being removable, they afford read y access to the igniting-chamber when necessary to adjust, replace, or repair the electrodes.

E represents an electric battery or source of electric energy, and F the electric circuit.

j' and f are 'the electrodes orcontactpieces in the igniting-chamber D` or D. One of these electrodes is insulated from the machine; the other of course need not be. One of these electrodes is preferably a spring; the other, of course, need not be. One of these two electrodes is moved or operated to make contact with the other by the piston or by some moving part connected therewith. The most convenient way to operate the movable electrode f is to attach it directly to the piston, as no intermediate mechanism is thus required to communicate motion to it from the piston. I prefer to insulate the stationary electrode f. Insulation is indicated at f2. I

prefer to make the stationary electrodef the spring one and to attach it te a removable binding post or holderfi. One pole of the electric battery connects with the insulated IOO contact-piece or electrode f', the other with the movable electrode f through the metal Work of the engine which forms part of the circuit. The electric circuit F is alternately closed through the electrodes f f' in the igniting-chamber D, and the similar electrodes in theigniting-chamber D' by means of a pair of movable contact-pieces fL f5, which alternately make connection with a stationary contact-piece f, which forms part of the electric circuit.

G is the valve box or chamber. lt is divided into three compartments g, g', and g2 by partitions or webs G' It is also furnished with a number of water-compartments g5 to keep the same cool. The Valve-box is furnished With four puppet-valves H H and K K', which close the ports 7L h' and 7s 7a'. The compartments or passages g and g communicate through the valve-ports 7L and 7c with the ports g4 and g5,leading, respectively,to the two high-pressureY cylinders B and B', and the compartment (2 communicates through the port or passage gG with the low-pressure cylinder B2. By thus providing two valves, as H and H', between each high-pressure cylinder and the low-pressure cylinder one of the valves H closes the high-pressure cylinder during the explosive or power stroke of its piston, while the other valve H' closes the communication between the low-pressure and said first-mentioned high-pressu re cylinder, While the other high-pressure cylinder is exhausting into the low-pressure cylinder. By this arrangement the pressure of the puppetvalves serves to hold them closed at the proper times. The valves H and H' are automatically raised or opened by a pitman H2, operated by a crank m on the 4valve-operatic g shaft M. The valves K and K' are operated by a similar pitman K2, actuated by a clrank fm' on the shaft M. Springs H3 KS hold the valves H H' and K K' normally seated.,y

N represents the inlet-port into each of the igniting-chambers D D', and N the puppetvalve for closing the same.y

P represents the exhaust port or valve leading from the low-pressure cylinder B2, and P' the puppet-valve-for closing the same. I find by experience that an ordinary puppetvalve may be satisfactorily used for closing this exhaust-port, as the exhaust-port may be comparatively small, and as the loss through this small port during the power-stroke of the piston C2will not be considerable, owing to the rapid movement of the piston C2 and the large size of the cylinder B2. The cylinder B2 should be made of double the size of the cylinders B B-that is to say, the area of the piston C2 is twice the area of the piston C or C'.

The operation is as follows: On the iirst or down stroke, for example, of the piston C, the high-pressure cylinder B draws in a charge of cominingled air and gas through the supply-port N. At the second or back stroke of the piston C this charge is compressed, and as this second stroke is nished the charge is ignited by the contact and subsequent separation of the electrodes f f in the igniting-chamber D. The piston C then makes its third or explosive stroke, thus exerting power upon the crank C3. .The valveoperating shaft M then lifts or opens the valvesH H', and as the piston C makes its fourth or return stroke, completing its cycle, the exhaust passes out through the valve H and under the valve H' and through the passage or compartment g2 into the low-pressure cylinder B2,the exhaust-pressure at this time holding the opposite valve K closed. The pist-on C2 of the cylinder B2 being of twice the area of the piston C, thus exerts power upon the crank-shaft C3, corresponding to the difference in area of the pistons C2 and C. Upon the return-stroke of the piston C2 the exhaust, now at a low pressure, escapes through the exhaust-port P and into the'outer air. At the fourth or exhaustexpelling stroke of the piston C, though the electrodes f f are of course brought into contact by the piston, no electric spark is produced by the contact or separation of the electrodes at this fourth stroke, because at this time the circuit is not closed at f4 f6. The spark of course is only produced in the ignitingchamber of the cylinder B when the circuit is simultaneously closed at both the points where it is open-that is to say, at the contacts ff' and f4 f6. This only takes place at theend or iinishof the second or chargecompressing stroke of the piston C. The circuit is thus only momentarily closed and at the time the spark is needed to ignite the charge.- In the meanwhile the alternately-acting high-pressure cylinder B has gone through the same operations as the first mentioned high-pressure cylinder B, but alternately therewith, so that one of the three pistons is exerting power upon the crank-shaft at all times-that is to say, first one of the high-pressure cylinders, then the low pressure, then the other high pressure, and then the lovsT pressure, and so on continuously. In like manner the spark is only produced in the igniting-ehamber of the cylinder B' when the circuit is simultaneously closed at the two openings or breaks ff' and fj. As the shaft M, which operates the circuit-closing devices ff, revolves at only half the speed of the crank-shaft C, the circuit will only be closed at f4 fG--for example, when the piston C is making or finishing its second stroke and not the fourth stroke of said piston C, and soin like manner the circuit will only be closed at f at the corresponding charge compressing stroke of the other piston C'.

The valve-operating'shaft M is driven from the main driving-shaft C3 at half the speed of the driving-shaft, so that the valves and the circuit-closing devices ff will be operated in proper time.

m2 m3 represent the gears for communicating motion from the driving-shaft C3 to the valve-operating shaft M.

IOO

IIO

I claiml. In a gas or vapor engine, the combination, with two alternately-actinghigh-pressu re cylinders, each having a piston and furnished with an ignitingchamber, a single low-pressure cylinder having a piston and taking the exhaust alternately from each of said highpressure cylinders, a single electric battery7 and normally-open circuit having normallyseparated electrodes orcontact-pointsin each of said igniting-chambers, one of said electrodes in each of said igniting-chambers of said cylinders being movable and carried on or operated by the piston to close the circuit and produce the igniting-spark at the end of its charge-compressingstroke, said circuit being also provided with a circuit closeil and breaker device at another point to close the circuit alternately through the electrodes of each of said igniting-chambers, the one electric battery and circuit serving to explode the charges in the igniting-chambers of both cylinders, substantially as specified.

2. In a gas or vapor engine, the combination, with two'alternately-acting high-pressure cylinders, each having pistons and furnished with an igniting-chamber, two normally-separated electrodes in each of said igniting-chambers, one of said electrodes in each chamber being aspring and one in each chamber being movable and carried on or operated by the piston, a single Velectric battery and circuit having two branches, one branch lead-- ing to each ignit-ing-chamber, and a circuit closing and breaking device operating to alternately close the circuit through each of said branches to alternately explode the charges in the igniting-chambers of both cylinders, substantially as specified.

3. In a gas or vapor engine, the combination, with two alternately-acting high pressure cylinders B B', each furnished with an igniting-chainber having a stationary insulated spring-electrodef therein, pistons C C', each furnished with an electrode f, an electric battery E and circuit F, having two branches, one leading` to each of said insulating-electrodes f in said igniting-chambers, and a circuit closing` and breaking device f'l f5 f 6, operating to alternately close the circuit through each of said branches leading to the iguitingchambers, whereby the circuit is closed and the spark produced in each of said ignitingchambers only at the end of the charge-compressing stroke of each piston, substantially as specified.

4,-. The combination, in a gas or vapor engine, of two alternately-acting high-pressure cylinders, each having a piston and furnished with an igniting-chamber, of a low-pressure cylinder having a piston and taking the exhaust alternately from each of the two highpressure cylinders, a common crank-shaft, to which the pistons of all three of said cylinders are connected, a valve-box G, divided into three compartments g g g2 and provided with ports and four puppet-valves II II K K for opening and closing the communication between said cylinders, a valve-operating shaft M, having pitinen H2 K2 for alternately operating said valves I-I H and K K', a single electric battery and circuit, normally-separated electrodes f f in each of said igniting-chambe-rs, said circuit having separate branches leading to said electrodes f j and a circuit closing and breaking device f4 ff, connected to and operated by said valve-shaft M, to close the circuit alternately through each of said branches, substantially as specified.

DANIEL S. REGAN. VVtnesses:

I-I. W. MUNDAY, EDMUND ADoocK. 

